Virtual Workshops

Presented by: George Arhonditsis, Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto

The keynote speech from the opening ceremonies of the Toronto Science Fair 2021. Professor Arhonditsis takes you through a brief overview of mathematical models as a way of studying and understanding various environmental factors and environmental management.

Length: 22:31 min

Presented by: Manning Whitby, first year student at the University of Ottawa

Organisms in the animal kingdom use their senses to survive and thrive in their given environments. In this workshop with Toronto Science Fair Alumni, and Canada Wide Science Fair Gold and Platinum metalist, Manning takes you through understanding the sensory and perception of the five senses and beyond. This video workshop has an interactive challenge component and students may submit their results at this link.

Length: 54:39 min

Presented by: Dr. Soheil Ghoreyshi, Biomedical Engineering Professor at Centennial College

Light is everywhere in our everyday life. Do you know the speed of light is not constant? Or Light can transfer video/audio? Or Light can be bend? Or Light can capture signals? Stay with us to see this magic!

Length: 18:38 min

Presented by: Dr. Nalina Nadarajah, Biotechnology Professor at Centennial College

Did you know that you could generate electricity from the soil from your backyard? Many different microbes naturally living in the soil beneath your feet are capable of generating electricity.

Length: 13:53min

Presented by: Dr. Paddy Shastri, Biotechnology Professor at Centennial College

When you eat yogurt, you're helping maintain the bacterial colony in your gut. The acidity of yogurt helps the bacteria in your gut grow and multiply keeping your gut healthy. Let's find out the acidity of different types of yogurts. The 7-minute video will explore how yogurt is made using specific bacteria, measurement of pH and showcase how my student is experimenting with the addition of protein mixtures in yogurt production. The students will be supplied with instructions on how to make yogurt in their homes and how they can introduce variables to make different types of yogurts.

Length: 7:08min

Presented by: Dr. Siyam Subair, Professor at Centennial College, and students Harnoorkarn, Aanchal & Solomiya

Do you know that every square centimeter of our skin harbors over 10,000 bacteria? Some of these can become opportunistic pathogens and cause disease. Antimicrobial fabric is embedded with metallic particles or herbal extract in nano scale that prevents microbial contamination of sport wear, socks, and PPE such as lab coats.

Length: 18:06 min

Presented by: Natasha Recoskie & Leena Saeed, Masters students at Ontario Tech University

The future of science is tightly integrated with technology. The Micro:bit is an affordable and fun way for students to begin to explore the world of coding, sensors, and how they relate to scientific inquiry. The Micro:bit is a basic piece of hardware about the size of a credit card that can be connected to a variety of accessories and sensors, as well as to house software that you create using either block based code, MicroPython, or JavaScript. This video gives a brief overview of Micro:bit and all the possibilities you can explore with the magnificent Micro:bit.

Length: 19:45min

Presented by: Sarah Angelou & Jannatul Oyshie, undergraduate students of Engineering at the University of Toronto

Presented by two undergraduate student leaders at the Engineers Without Borders, the University of Toronto Chapter, this video is perfect for the young scientist who may be considering Engineering as a future career. This video workshop goes into some background of the larger parent non-profit organization Engineers Without Borders Canada, and how a high school student may get involved and participate in the organization. Then, Sarah and Jannatule take you through The Engineering Design Process, a critical backbone for engineers to effectively solve problems in the industry. Following along with their workshop using this Accompanying Activity. Finally, these engineers will give you a design challenge that you can solve and submit to them via email for the chance to win a prize and to be featured on their website.

If you have any questions about the challenge or about engineering in general, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Sarah and Jannatul from this video at ye.uoft@gmail.com.

Length: 30:23min

Presented by: Students of the Chemistry Society, University of Toronto - Scarborough Campus

Have you ever been scared by a balloon being popped? Have you ever popped a balloon because it hit a sharp object like a needle? Did you know it is possible to puncture a balloon but not pop it? This video demonstration explores the magic of polymers, and how you can show your friend a cool magic trick by putting a skewer through a balloon and not popping it!

Length: 2:55min

Presented by: Students of the Chemistry Society, University of Toronto - Scarborough Campus

We use toothpaste to brush our teeth, but what do elephants use? Elephant toothpaste! In this video demonstration, undergraduate students explore the chemical reaction behind the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide and show you how to make elephant toothpaste at home.

Length: 5:15min

Presented by: Students of the Chemistry Society, University of Toronto - Scarborough Campus

Hydrogels is a 3-D network of hydrophilic polymers that can hold a large amount of water and expand in volume. Hydrogels are used in the industry to produce consumer products such as contact lenses, and in biomedical engineering such as drug delivery and tissue engineering. This video explains the chemistry behind hydrogels and shows you a visual experiment of the synthesis of hydrogels.

Length: 6:20min

Presented by: Shalini Kumar, co-president of Chemistry Society, University of Toronto - Scarborough Campus

Considering your post-secondary career exploring Chemistry at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus? The co-president of the undergraduate Chemistry Society at UTSC takes you through a brief tour of the campus and gives you an opportunity to hear from a variety of undergraduate students on their experiences at UTSC.

Length: 9:26 min

Presented by: Students of the Chemistry Society, University of Toronto - Scarborough Campus

Polymers are chains of chemical compounds and are found everywhere in our daily lives! This video explores how polymer chemistry is utilized in baby diapers to absorb large amounts of liquid. If you have access to a commercial diaper at home, this video takes you through a fun experiment you can do in your own kitchen to observe how the polymers in diapers form hydrogels upon contact with water.

Length: 4:17 min

Presented by: The Chemistry Society, University of Toronto - Scarborough Campus

Curious to see what a real science lab looks like? Considering going to study Chemistry at the University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus (UTSC)? Check out this virtual tour that takes you through the TRACES lab located in the Environmental Science & Chemistry Building (Room 215) at the UTSC.

Length: 6:40 min

Presented by: Students & Dr. Shadi Dalili from Let’s Talk Science

Do you like your drinks sweet? Have you ever tried to add sugar to an already sweet drink and noticed that the sugar molecules seem to take a while to dissolve? This video explores how temperature affects the rate and solubility of different household compounds such as salt and sugar. See if you can watch this video and replicate this experiment at home!

For more fun at home demos & activities, check out https://letstalkscience.ca/ or follow Let’s Talk Science on Facebook or Twitter (@letstalkscience). Have questions about this demo or other science related questions? Email Let’s Talk Science at lts@utsc.utoronto.ca

Length: 3:01min

Presented by: Students & Dr. Shadi Dalili from Let’s Talk Science

Are you looking for something fun to do at home in your kitchen? Check out this video and learn all about how to use the common chicken egg to study the science of osmosis at home! This video explores three different solutions, and you’re welcome to extend this exploration further by exploring other solutions (psst, a fun one is doing the same experiment in corn syrup!).

For more fun at home demos & activities, check out https://letstalkscience.ca/ or follow Let’s Talk Science on Facebook or Twitter (@letstalkscience). Have questions about this demo or other science related questions? Email Let’s Talk Science at lts@utsc.utoronto.ca

Length: 6:20 min

Presented by: Students & Dr. Shadi Dalili from Let’s Talk Science

Matter is typically found as a solid, a liquid, or a gas, but can it simultaneously act as more than one? Watch this video for a fun at home experiment to do that will allow you to make the fun non-newtonian substance, oobleck, right in your own homes!

For more fun at home demos & activities, check out https://letstalkscience.ca/ or follow Let’s Talk Science on Facebook or Twitter (@letstalkscience). Have questions about this demo or other science related questions? Email Let’s Talk Science at lts@utsc.utoronto.ca

Length: 5:28 min